I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
Naruto woke up the next morning and noticed his arms were wrapped around Temari. They were both completely naked still and he smiled when she yawned cutely before moving closer to him for warmth. It was still pretty early so he went back to sleep only to wake up a few hours later thanks to Temari shaking him awake.
"Rise and shine big boy." Temari said and gave him a kiss
"What time is it?" Naruto asked
"Almost noon. Sakura and Natsumi have a test today. I want to go see it." Temari said and Naruto noticed the clothes she had on
"Are those my clothes?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. My clothes are all dirty since I was expecting to be back in Suna by now, but obviously plans changed yesterday." Temari said and he chuckled
"Alright. I'm up. I'll put your clothes in the washer." Naruto said
"Already did that. You need to get dressed so we can go watch the test." Temari said
"Alright. How are you feeling?" Naruto asked
"Sore, but I can manage. If it starts to bother me I'll just make you carry me." Temari said, as she watched Naruto get ready
"This will be so much easier when I master the hiraishin." Naruto said
"You didn't learn it yet?" Temari asked
"No. I was busy fighting in a war and didn't really have time to study it." Naruto said
"I'm sure you'll get it eventually. You're pretty smart." Temari said
"Smarter than you." Naruto said
"I doubt it." Temari said
"Really? How long did it take you to figure out Shikamaru's plan of attack in the chunin exams?" Naruto asked
"A couple of minutes." Temari said
"Took me ten seconds." Naruto said
"Whatever." Temari said and walked out of the room
"It's okay. At least you're smarter than Natsumi." Naruto said and helped her put her hair in her usual pigtails
"Thank you." Temari said
"You're welcome." Naruto said and kissed her cheek
"Have you heard from any of your summons yet?" Temari asked
"No. They'll let me know when they're a few days out. I'll summon Comet and he'll take us there within two hours to prepare." Naruto said and picked her up
"What are you doing?" Temari asked and blushed
"After all this time you still blush. Isn't that sweet." Naruto said
"I'm not used to this okay. You're my first boyfriend and the only guy I'm sweet with." Temari said and pouted
"You'll get used to it. Now, let's go." Naruto said and vanished
Training ground 7
"Come on! It's been almost three years and cyclops-sensei still can't show up on time!" Natsumi said
"Did you honestly think he'd show up on time? Besides, Naruto's late sometimes as well." Sakura said
"I know why Naruto's late, but he's only late now once a year. Kakashi is late everyday. We've been here for hours. When I see him he's going to wish he was on time." Natsumi said and then a puff of smoke appeared
"Hello, you two. Sorry I'm late. I ran into this poor old lady who needed some help carrying her bags home." Kakashi said
"I don't know why you even bother lying. Nobody believes them. Since you're late to my test, I'm going to kick your ass so bad that you'd wish you could kill me." Natsumi said and had a sweet smile on her face
"Oh boy." Sakura thought and they walked over to the three stumps in the ground
"Man it's been a minute since I've been here. I don't think I've been here since our bell test." Natsumi said
"Back when you were a loudmouth redhead." Sakura said
"Yeah and you were a hopeless fangirl who couldn't think about anything other than Sasuke." Natsumi said
"That's also the day you and Naruto teamed up against Kakashi-sensei. How did you two manage to get the bells anyway?" Sakura asked
"Teamwork. Me and Naruto were already strong enough as a team to take on a jonin, but we couldn't do it with you and Sasuke. The two of you would bitch and complain about how either Sasuke deserved our skills or that Sasuke would've done a better job." Natsumi said
"Was I really that bad?" Sakura asked
"Yup. You were a complete bitch." Natsumi said and Kakashi sweatdropped
"Sheesh. Tell me how you really feel." Sakura said and Natsumi grinned
"Well, I think my milk was past its expiration date. So if you start to smell something during our test I'd like to apologize in advance." Natsumi said and Sakura sighed
"Can I take my test by myself?" Sakura asked
"I'm afraid not. This test is between the three of us." Kakashi said
"Wait a minute. Why isn't Naruto here? Shouldn't he get tested as well?" Natsumi asked
"Nope. Naruto has been getting tested for almost 3 years." Kakashi said and pulled out two bells
"The bell test again, huh?" Natsumi asked
"That's right. Show me what you've got. I want to see how far the two of you have come. After all, you can't be a student of two of the legendary sannin and train under them for nearly three years with no growth. The rules are the same as they were the first day. I don't care how you do it. Get these bells away from me and remember." Kakashi said
"If we're not prepared to kill you." Natsumi said
"We won't get the bells. We know." Sakura said
"Exactly. Show no mercy if you ever hope to gain these bells. You have until sunrise tomorrow. Alright, shall we get started?" Kakashi asked and closed his book
"Are you going to read your book this whole time?" Natsumi asked
"I bet he has already finished reading it." Sakura said
"Not quite, but I'm going to save that pleasure for later. Besides, I've got a feeling I'd better keep on my toes. This time it's serious." Kakashi said and revealed his sharingan
Meanwhile Jiraiya, Naruto, Tsunade, Temari and Shizune were all watching closely from the forest. They all wanted to see how those two worked as a team since they never worked together by themselves in the past.
"Let's go!" Natsumi said
She threw some shuriken at Kakashi who ducked out of the way and threw his own shuriken. Natsumi jumped in the air to avoid Kakashi's shuriken that he threw and used shadow clone jutsu to get out of the way from some more shuriken that were thrown into the air.
"Impressive." Kakashi said
"Nice." Sakura said
"She was trapped in mid air so she used the shadow clone jutsu to move herself out of the way." Sakura thought
"Transform." Natsumi said
She used the transformation jutsu and turned her shadow clone into a giant shuriken and went to throw it at Kakashi, but she was suddenly stopped by Kakashi himself.
"That'll be enough of that." Kakashi said
"She's growing up right before my eyes. Not only that, but her timing with the shadow clone has improved as well." Kakashi thought, as he saw a shadow clone holding a kunai to his back
"It's a good thing you're just a shadow clone, cyclops-sensei. Otherwise you'd be dead." Natsumi said and a shadow clone came from underneath then stabbed Kakashi with a kunai making him go up in smoke
"How'd you know he was a shadow clone?" Sakura asked
"You can't outsmart me using the very technique that I mastered. I have this kind of sixth-sense when it comes to somebody using the shadow clone jutsu." Natsumi said
"Then we need to find the real one now." Sakura said and started to look around
"I can check further away from you. You can only sense so far and see so far with your eyes. I can find him in a different way." Natsumi said
"How?" Sakura asked
"I have the wood kekkei genkai. Over the years I secretly came up with a different version of sensing where somebody is. I place my hand on the ground or inside of it and I can see anything within a 2 mile radius." Natsumi said
"Even when they conceal their chakra signature?" Sakura asked
"I don't look for chakra. I look for body heat or I can create the head of a wood clone to look around through its eyes either above ground or below ground. The bad thing is that I can't do it while I'm mobile." Natsumi said and knelt down before placing her hand in the ground
"That's incredible." Sakura said
"10 yards north underground." Natsumi said and moved her hand
"I've got this!" Sakura said and destroyed the ground after a single punch revealing Kakashi
"What ridiculous strength!" Kakashi thought
"Great. The last thing Sakura needs is that monstrous strength to go with her temper." Natsumi thought
"Seems Lady Tsunade has been teaching her a lot more than just medical ninjutsu." Kakashi thought
Spectators
"The same quick temper and monstrous strength. Tsunade basically turned Sakura into a mirror image of herself." Jiraiya said
"Did you honestly think she wouldn't? We're lucky there's only two of them instead of three. Don't forget that Shizune also learned under Tsunade." Naruto said
"Then why didn't Shizune learn how to do that?" Temari asked
"It's simple. Sakura was a blank canvas. She had no skills before Tsunade took her under her wing and Tsunade took that opportunity to mold Sakura how she wanted. Shizune was already a chunin when she left with Tsunade and already had skills. Learning Tsunade's chakra enhanced strength wouldn't have worked with her. Shizune prefers to fight from a distance rather than up close the complete opposite of how Tsunade fights." Jiraiya said
"Pervy-Sage." Naruto said
"Stop calling me that!" Jiraiya said
"Whatever. Did you know about Natsumi's tracker ability?" Naruto asked
"No. I gave her free time to work on her own things after every training session. She wanted to work on the rasengan for your bet and she was always out late training." Jiraiya said
"It is an interesting ability. Not even my grandfather was able to do that." Tsunade said and they looked at her
"Lady Tsunade, I thought you'd be in your office." Temari said
"I thought you'd be on your way back to Suna, but we obviously had other things to do." Tsunade said and Temari blushed
"Anyway, I want to test Natsumi after Kakashi is done. He can't test her in everything and I want to give her the final test." Naruto said
"Then I guess you'll be needing this." Tsunade said and tossed him a scroll
"I was wondering when you were going to give it to me." Naruto said
"What is it?" Temari asked
"My jonin vest. Mei told me that she recommended me for a promotion 6 months after I arrived in Kiri. Before I left she said that I should get the vest when I returned to the village." Naruto said
"She may have sent it over two years ago, but you haven't been a jonin officially until four days ago. Lady Tsunade was drinking on the job and fell behind in her paperwork." Shizune said
"You mean to tell me that after all these years none of you have figured out how to defeat paperwork?" Naruto asked
"You know how? Tell me!" Tsunade said
"I'll tell you in 2 years since that's how long it took you to approve my jonin status." Naruto said
"You have the same smart ass mouth like your mother. It's a good thing you can control yourself unlike Natsumi." Tsunade said
"That makes me even worse than her because she can't control it and doesn't mean a lot of the things she says, but I do mean it." Naruto said
"Sheesh. It's like dealing with Sayuri and Kushina all over again." Jiraiya thought
Natsumi & Sakura vs Kakashi
"Kakashi-sensei, we found you, didn't we?" Sakura asked and Kakashi jumped out of the ground
"She infuses her chakra together. Focuses it into her fist and releases it all at once. Something like that requires incredibly precise chakra control. Medical ninjutsu combined with monstrous strength. No, it's more than that overall she's more of a genjutsu type. She just might become a better kunoichi than the hokage. You had your shot, now it's my turn." Kakashi thought
"Psst. Behind you." A voice whispered
"Huh?" Kakashi asked and when he turned around nobody was there
"What was that? Genjutsu! Of course!" Kakashi thought and tried to break it, but he couldn't
"What?! Why can't I break the genjutsu?" Kakashi asked
"Because I'm using tailed beast chakra to power it." Natsumi said
"Of course. She does have great control over the nine tails chakra." Kakashi thought and stabbed himself to break the genjutsu only to jump out of the way when he heard Sakura come flying at him with a punch that destroyed the ground
"You really shouldn't yell when you're going to punch somebody as a sneak attack, Sakura. It will alert them of your presence." Natsumi said
"She's right, Sakura. Had you not made any noise I would've lost the fight and been unconscious." Kakashi said
"Alright, Cyclops. It's you and me now." Natsumi said and got in a fighting stance
"I'll have to watch out for her taijutsu. It was a major problem when she was a genin. She was able to fool the sharingan once already. I'll have to keep on my toes for this one." Kakashi thought
"Alright. "Time for today's lesson. This is shinobi battle skill rule number one, taijutsu." Kakashi said
"Back me up when you see an opening." Natsumi said
"Got it." Sakura said
Kakashi ran forward and immediately went after Natsumi who dodged his kicks and punches. Natsumi, used her wood ninjutsu to create a root from the ground that Kakashi tripped over and then Natsumi jumped up into a tree giving Sakura an opening. She ran at Kakashi and threw punches at Kakashi who easily avoided them. He was backed into a tree and had to move as Sakura destroyed the tree with one of her punches she aimed at his head.
Before Kakashi could react, Natsumi was on him and easily started to go one on one with Kakashi in taijutsu. She managed to break Kakashi's guard and gave him a punch to the gut before Sakura came and kicked him away. Kakashi landed, then quickly ducked out of the way from Sakura who was coming at him with another chakra enhanced punch and slammed her to the ground. He looked around for Natsumi, but couldn't find her with his tracking abilities.
"She was trained by master Jiraiya so it's no wonder why I can't track her." Kakashi thought
He heard a twig break and looked to the direction of the sound, but didn't see anything. He looked back at Sakura who exploded and he was sent flying back only to get kicked in the back before he hit the ground.
"Natsumi and Sakura two. Cyclops, zero. Taijutsu, genjutsu. Now what?" Natsumi asked
"Shinobi battle skill number 3, ninjutsu." Kakashi said and rapidly went through hand signs
Fire style: Fireball jutsu
Kakashi exhaled a large ball of fire towards Natsumi and Sakura who both jumped out of the way. Natsumi landed and looked at the damage then noticed Kakashi was missing. Suddenly her ankle was grabbed and she was pulled underground, but went up in smoke signaling she was another shadow clone. Kakashi noticed Sakura and Natsumi running at him so he rapidly went through more hand signs.
Water style: water dragon jutsu
Kakashi jumped onto the river that was near him and created a large dragon made of water. He controlled it and watched as it rushed towards Natsumi and Sakura. Natsumi went through hand signs and used the mud wall jutsu to block the water dragon jutsu. Natsumi went through more hand signs after and used her own jutsu.
Wind Style: Great vacuum sphere
Natsumi inhaled breath into a single large, crushing sphere of wind chakra then proceeded to expel it from her mouth. The jutsu was so powerful that it tore up the ground and Kakashi barely had time to get out of the way. Before Kakashi could use his next jutsu, Natsumi already went through hand signs and used the earth dragon jutsu followed by the earth dragon bomb. Kakashi had to use his speed to outrun the dragon that was chasing after him and while shooting mud bullets at him. Natsumi went through more hand signs for her next attack.
Water Style: Raging Rapids
Natsumi created a powerful vortex of water and unleashed it on Kakashi who was caught into the vortex. While the vortex was damaging Kakashi, Natsumi used the water shuriken jutsu to add insult to injury and the shuriken weren't aimed at Kakashi, but the bells on his belt. The jutsu ended and Kakashi was thrown to the ground next to the bells that Natsumi calmly picked up before handing one to Sakura.
"We win." Natsumi said
"Uh, I think you overdid it." Sakura said and looked at Kakashi
"I don't think I did." Natsumi said and poked Kakashi with a stick
"Please tell me he's not dead." Sakura said and Kakashi groaned in pain
"Nah he's fine." Natsumi said
"Congratulations, you two. You managed to get the bells." Tsunade said
"Natsumi did all the work." Sakura said
"It was your punches and kicks that mainly wore him out." Natsumi said
"Yeah, but you handled the ninjutsu portion." Sakura said
"Well, when you put it like that you were pretty useless. I guess I did do all the work." Natsumi said
"Just when I thought we were having a moment." Sakura said and Natsumi pulled her into a hug
"I'm just kidding." Natsumi said
"Well, that's over with. I'm impressed at your growth Natsumi. Kakashi is one of the top jonin in the village and the only person I'd probably put above him is Might Guy." Tsunade said
"No way bushier-brow sensei is stronger than cyclops-sensei." Natsumi said
"Yeah. He's weird." Sakura said and Natsumi unsealed the Kubikiribocho to block a sword from taking her head off
"Lesson number four, Kenjutsu." Naruto said
"You could've just asked." Natsumi said and Naruto moved his sword
"A shinobi will never let his or her opponent know when they're going to strike." Naruto said
"Let's get back, Sakura." Tsunade said and Sakura nodded
"You got this, Natsumi." Sakura said and jumped into a tree
"Y'know I was trained by Lord Mifune in the land of iron while I was gone." Natsumi said
"That's good. I was trained by a master swordsman in Kiri. Until I came around, there was one person who could go toe to toe with him in terms of kenjutsu. Take a wild guess at who that person is." Naruto said
"Lord Mifune." Natsumi said
"Exactly." Naruto said
Spectators
"I don't understand. From what we've learned in the academy, Lord Mifune was the best of the best." Sakura said
"That's not true and it was false information." Tsunade said
"Then who's the swordsman that's stronger than him? How strong was he?" Sakura asked
"His name is Ichigo Kurosaki, but the thing is he died many years ago." Jiraiya said
"Not unless he faked his death." Shizune said
"I doubt it. From what I've heard about him, he would never fake his death. He was too strong to be defeated by anybody and I don't even think all 7 members of the 7 ninja swordsmen would be able to beat him if he fought them at the same time. His skills with the sword are legendary." Jiraiya said
"How do you know so much, but Lady Tsunade doesn't?" Sakura asked
"Because I traveled the world learning new things ever since the 2nd shinobi war. I've heard tales of his battles where he single handedly took out an army of rogue ninja to defend his home." Jiraiya said
"Now that same person trained Naruto while he was away. Great as if Naruto already wasn't strong." Sakura said
"Don't worry, Sakura. Naruto isn't as strong as you think he is." Tsunade said
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked
"He's strong, but he's not as strong as you think. Mei Terumi disclosed that she and Naruto fought. It was close, but he lost. It shouldn't mean much, but amongst the ranking of all five kage, Mei would rank fourth in terms of strength." Tsunade said
"Where would Gaara rank?" Temari asked
"Gaara is the wild card. He's a jinchuriki so technically he's been a Kage level shinobi his entire life, same goes for Natsumi. Without the tailed beast chakra in play, Gaara is the fifth strongest since I don't think he's stronger than a jonin, but with the tailed beast chakra in play he's easily at the top." Tsunade said
"So, Naruto can lose to you and pervy-sage still." Temari said
"Stop calling me that! Wait. Don't call me that!" Jiraiya said
"We'd kick his ass easily. There's still time for him to grow, but I think he and Natsumi will somehow surpass us in the upcoming years." Tsunade said
"That's true and Natsumi's training isn't over yet so there's that." Jiraiya said and then a shockwave was felt
"Looks like they started." Tsunade said
Naruto vs Natsumi
Naruto vanished from his spot in front of Natsumi and she quickly turned around to black the strike aimed at her lower back. Natsumi channeled chakra into her sword and Naruto was sent flying away by the force of her chakra. He looked up and saw that her sword had a red glow around it showing that she was about to use her tailed beast chakra. Natsumi used her drilling crimson blade technique on Naruto who was impressed. Naruto channeled draconic chakra into his sword and countered with his own slash. The collision between both chakras caused an explosion that shook the entire training ground. Natsumi used her divine mountain wind jutsu to blow away the smoke and saw Naruto standing there like nothing happened.
"Impressive. You managed to use the tailed beast chakra in a way that nobody would've thought." Naruto said
"I may have grown, but I didn't lose my unpredictability." Natsumi said
"Clearly." Naruto said
Naruto started to use the Leaf Style Willow on Natsumi and she was caught off guard when he suddenly had multiple arms waving around. Natsumi barely broke out of the genjutsu to move out of the way from Naruto's sword coming to stab her in the stomach. Natsumi jumped back and then charged at Naruto with their swords clashing in the middle. Natsumi swung the Kubikiribocho with ease despite its size and Naruto deflected each of her attacks which were heavy.
Naruto used his superior speed and cut Natsumi a few times before kicking the Kubikiribocho out of her hands. Naruto jumped back before charging at her again with lightning chakra flowing through his sword and before he could hit Natsumi, her sword came back to her hand and she blocked Naruto's attack while channeling wind chakra through her sword to counteract the lightning chakra. Naruto smirked and she did as well so they jumped back.
"Magnet seal, nice." Naruto said
"I may or may not have taken it from your apartment before we left." Natsumi said and he sighed
"Of course you did." Naruto said
"Shall we continue?" Natsumi asked
"If you want, but let me show you a little something I learned." Naruto said
Naruto channeled chakra into his sword and after gathering enough, Naruto used his moon fang heaven-piercer. The results nearly made Natsumi piss herself from what she saw. Naruto slashed his sword in an upward motion and the slash took the shape of a crescent moon. The damage from the attack was so great that it left a huge gash in the ground taking out everything in its path which was maybe 100 feet. Natsumi had her jaw on the ground and she just looked at him.
"Good spar." Naruto said
"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU COULDN'T DEFEAT THE MIZUKAGE WITH THAT." Natsumi yelled
"She used her lava and melted my sword." Naruto said
"NARUTO UCHIHA-NAMIKAZE." Tsunade yelled
"Shit." Naruto said
"YOU DAMAGED VILLAGE PROPERTY." Tsunade yelled
"In my defense I toned it down a bit." Naruto said and they just looked at him until Temari grabbed him by the ear
"That was the toned down version?!" Temari asked
"Yes." Naruto said and then a puff of smoke went off
"Naruto, they're on their way to Suna. They'll be there in 2 days." A dragon said
"Thanks, Supai. We're on it. Let Gaara know we'll be there in a few hours." Naruto said and Supai nodded before leaving
"You're lucky." Tsunade said
"We need to go." Temari said
"They'll be there in 2 days. We have time. Comet will get us there in 3 hours." Naruto said
"Comet? What happened to Dash?" Natsumi asked
"He's retired." Naruto said
"Anyway, Naruto and Temari will go back to his place for her stuff. They'll meet you and Sakura at the gate. Naruto's in charge." Tsunade said
"You heard the old lady. Let's move." Naruto said and vanished with Temari
"NARUTO." Tsunade yelled
"It feels weird hearing you yell his name instead of mine." Natsumi said
"I don't know. It feels like it fits better." Tsunade said
"Natsumi, after this mission work on your speed. You're still too slow with that sword even though you did good in this spar, it's evident that Naruto took it easy on you. If your speed doesn't change, I'd suggest getting a new sword or something that works with the Kubikiribocho." Jiraiya said and went up in smoke
"Move out." Tsunade said and they vanished
Konoha forest
"So why did we have to go all the way out here?" Natsumi asked
"Well, Comet sort of hit a growth spurt." Naruto said
"He was the size of your arm the last time I saw him. He couldn't have gotten that big." Natsumi said
"Yeah, I thought the same thing." Naruto said, as he summoned Comet and a huge roar was heard
"Finally! Once again I'm in the human world!" Comet said and Natsumi had her jaw on the ground
"THAT'S COMET? HE'S FUCKING HUGE." Natsumi said
"He's not fully grown yet either." Naruto said
"Yup. I'll be even bigger Ra. Maybe stronger than him as well. So, what can I do for you, Naruto?" Comet asked
"The akatsuki will make it to Suna in 2 days." Naruto said
"Hop on." Comet said
"Is it safe?" Sakura asked
"If you hold on it is." Temari said and jumped on his back
"Temari, it's nice to finally meet you." Comet said
"How are you just now meeting Temari?" Natsumi asked, as she and Sakura jumped onto his back
"She can only summon Tatsu thanks to her mark. I was training at the dragon's den this entire time and since she's not a summoner, she can't come to the dragon's den." Comet said
"I guess that makes sense." Natsumi said
"Didn't Naruto talk about me?" Temari asked
"Not really. He trained there, but never mentioned your name a lot." Comer said and rose up into the air
"Please fly slow!" Sakura said
"Slow? What do I look like, a slug?" Comet asked and flew off extremely fast making Sakura scream at the top of her lungs
"This is going to be a long ride." Naruto said, as Temari was holding on to him
"At least I'm not doing twists and flips like I normally do." Comet said
"SAKURA SHUT THE FUCK UP." Natsumi yelled, but Sakura couldn't hear her
"Maybe we should just walk." Temari said
"Nah. Hopefully she'll pass out from screaming so loud." Naruto said
"She better." Natsumi said and they were wrong
Suna
"Two fucking hours. Two fucking hours of this bitch screaming in my fucking ear!" Natsumi said, as they landed at the gates of Suna
"You see the dragon, right?" A Suna guard asked
"Yeah. I see it." The other guard said
"Great. State your business for being here!" The gate guard asked
"I'm here to eat you!" Comer said and the guards paled
"He's just kidding!" Temari said, as she jumped in front of them
"We're here to help Gaara prepare for an attack." Naruto said, as he appeared next to Temari followed by Sakura and Natsumi
"Right this way then." A guard said and they ran after him
"Where's Gaara now?" Temari asked
"I think he's evacuating the village. He wants to tell the council about the attack." The guard said
"I need to summon Supai." Naruto said and summoned him
"What's up?" Supai asked
"Did you get a good look at who the akatsuki are sending?" Naruto asked
"One had blonde hair always talking about blowing something up and the other kept talking about puppets." Supai said
"Alright, thanks. You can return home." Naruto said and Supai nodded before leaving
"Explosions and puppets? What does that mean?" Natsumi asked
"Deidara the mad bomber and Sasori of the red sand. They're members of the akatsuki." Naruto said
"How do you know?" Natsumi asked
"The dragons I had sent to spy on the akatsuki over the years gave me their information. I know a few of their names and their abilities. Deidara and Sasori were mainly sent because Sasori used to be part of Suna's puppet Corp." Naruto said
"What about Deidara?" Temari asked
"He was a member of Iwa's explosion corp. He became a rogue ninja when he stole a kinjutsu to further enhance his explosion techniques and he used his explosive clay to kill the people sent after him." Naruto said
"So an explosion master and a puppet user. Both long range fighters." Sakura said
"Exactly. I'll take on Deidara with Gaara and the three of you can take on Sasori with Kankuro since he uses puppets as well. Sakura I want you to hang back with the three of them and provide medical assistance should they need it. Natsumi and Temari should work together. Wind and fire will burn all of his puppets." Naruto said
"Why do you take on Deidara with Gaara?" Natsumi asked
"Because Deidara fights on a clay bird that flies in the air. I can use my dragons and Gaara can use his sand to stay airborne." Naruto said and she nodded
"I'll have the other ninja lay back and protect every entrance to the village." Temari said
"Tell Gaara not to call a council meeting. The fact that he wasn't alerted of this before Supai got to him means you have a traitor amongst the village. One of them could slip out after the meeting and warn the akatsuki of our plan." Naruto said
"You got it." Temari said and went her own way
"Natsumi, create some shadow clones and have them roam the city. If your clone sees anything suspicious, apprehend the person and keep them in lockdown. I'll have my own shadow clones out as well." Naruto said
"No problem." Natsumi said, as Kankuro came up to them
"We have a problem." Kankuro said
"What is it?" Naruto asked
"One of our council members managed to slip out after our meeting." Kankuro said and Temari appeared
"Dammit." Naruto said
"It's Yūra who's missing." Temari said
"What does he look like?" Naruto said
"He's a short man with black hair that hangs over his right eye, a goatee and dark eyes." Kankuro said
"Natsumi, go find him and bring him to Gaara's office." Naruto said
"Sure thing." Natsumi said and vanished
"We've got genin and chunin guarding the bunker we have. We'll keep our medics on standby just in case." Gaara said, as he approached them
"Keep an eye on the skies. Deidara likes to travel by air." Naruto said and Gaara nodded
"I've got him." Natsumi said, as she appeared with a knocked out Yūra on her shoulder
"Yūra? What's he doing here?" Gaara asked
"He's a spy. He killed two of your anbu at the gate and wounded three jonin. They're getting medical help right now." Natsumi said
"Take him to interrogation." Gaara said
"Uh, we don't exactly know where it is." Sakura said
"We don't have enough time to send him there anyway. Who knows how long it'll take to get him to talk." Kankuro said
"I can get what you need. What exactly do you want to know?" Naruto asked
"I want to know who he's a spy for and how long?" Gaara asked
"Alright. No problem. I just need ten seconds." Naruto said and turned away from Temari to use his mangekyo sharingan
"Are you sure ten seconds is enough time?" Sakura asked and Naruto lifted one of Yūra's eyelids
"Yeah." Naruto said and used Maindorīdā to get the information he needed
"What's he doing?" Temari asked
"Basically reading his mind. He's using his sharingan for this one." Natsumi said
"The sharingan doesn't have that ability though." Sakura said
"Naruto's does. His sharingan is...different from the one cyclops-sensei uses." Natsumi said and Naruto was finished
"I'm done." Naruto said
"Your eye is bleeding." Sakura said and he wiped away the blood
"He's a spy, but he doesn't know he's a spy." Naruto said
"How is that possible?" Natsumi asked
"The memory-concealing manipulative sand jutsu." Naruto said
"Who was he spying for?" Gaara asked
"Sasori, which means they've picked up their speed if he was able to activate the jutsu and he's not even in the village. We may have less than a few hours until they reach the village. I managed to cancel the jutsu so when he wakes up, he won't remember any of this." Naruto said and Gaara nodded
"Let's go to the gates. Naruto will fight me while the others take on the other one." Gaara said
"The one we'll fight is named Deidara who fights from a distance. We'll be in the air." Naruto said, as they started running
"Alright." Gaara said
Few hours later
Naruto, Gaara, Natsumi, Temari, Kankuro and Sakura were all at the village entrance gates. They were all prepared to fight and doing different things to get Rey prepared for the fight. Natsumi was sitting down meditating, Temari was making sure her fam was in prime condition, Kankuro was tinkering with his puppets, Sakura was going through her medical supplies, Naruto and Gaara were both staring out into the desert. As they were waiting, Naruto saw a giant bird made of clay in the sky and used his thunderclap arrow to destroy it. Once the bird was destroyed Sasori and Deidara appeared in front of them.
"You ready, Gaara?" Naruto asked
"Yeah." Gaara said
"What the hell? What is the nine tails jinchuriki doing here? I thought she went missing." Deidara said
"It doesn't matter. We get two jinchuriki." Sasori said
"Not gonna happen. The two of you will die today." Naruto said
"Yeah, you fuckers are done for." Natsumi said
"Big talk from somebody who ran away. What's the matter? Did the big bad leaf village treat the poor little jinchuriki badly?" Deidara asked
"No, bitch. I was training to kick your ass." Natsumi said
"Ready, Gaara?" Naruto asked
"Yeah." Gaara said
"Deidara, you handle the kazekage. I'll take the nine tails jinchuriki. Keep the jinchuriki alive." Sasori said and then he was kicked away
"Let's go bitch!" Natsumi said and ran after Sasori with the others
"Looks like I'll be done before Sasori." Deidara said and created a clay bird then flew into the sky
"You know, Deidara. The two of you made a fatal mistake coming here." Naruto said, as he summoned a dragon to go in the sky and Gaara used his sand
"Oh yeah? What's the mistake?" Deidara asked
"You came to fight the Kazekage in his domain. This is his playground. You came to fight a shinobi who uses sand in a desert." Naruto said
"You should have waited for me to go out of the desert." Gaara said and Deidara smirked
"We're not worried. We came prepared for the one tailed beast." Deidara said
"You both may have come prepared for Gaara, but not the rest of us. Plus, I can already tell that Sasori is the brains in your group." Naruto said
"I never knew the Kazekage couldn't fight for himself. The leader of the village is so scared that he had to call in backup." Deidara said
Gaara didn't respond and just sent a huge wave of sand at Deidara who countered with some explosive clay. Naruto sent a pulse of lighting chakra through the sand and felt some bombs get disabled. While Deidara was flying around Gaara transformed his sand into one of Shukaku's hands and had it chase Deidara. While he was flying around, Deidara threw two small clay birds that grew in size towards Gaara, but Naruto destroyed them with his thunderclap arrow.
The dragon Naruto was on flew in so Naruto could get closer to Deidara and then Naruto used the dragon flame jutsu. Deidara countered with some of his explosive clay, but the explosion was too strong and it destroyed one of the wings on his clay bird he was using so he was forced to create another one. Naruto used the lightning ball jutsu, but Deidara managed to get out of the way and fell into a trap set by Gaara. Gaara used his sand prison to capture Deidara, but after a few seconds, Deidara managed to cause a strong enough explosion in order to get out of the sand prison.
"That sand is a real pain in the ass. Add in the fact that he has the tactical advantage, I can't stop him from using it." Deidara thought
Naruto's dragon shot a fireball at Deidara who managed to dodge it, but fell right into the trap Naruto and Gaara set. Gaara managed to catch Deidara with a giant column of sand that was attached to his arm, but Deidara used a giant clay centipede to weaken the sand and get away. Gaara managed to use his sand coffin at the last second and crush his arm.
"The Kazekage is good. The sand he used to crush my arm is different. It's faster and more powerful than the ordinary sand from the desert. It's infused with a lot of chakra and that must be his go to for quick defense. I underestimated him. I should've been better prepared. However, even if I did come more prepared for him, the Uchiha is a huge problem for me. How did he enter the village without Sasori's spy knowing? I can't escape because his dragon is fast. His moves are unknown except for him being able to use fire and lightning jutsus. I need to separate them and take them out one at a time." Deidara thought
"It won't work." Naruto said
"What do you mean?" Deidara asked
"I bet you're thinking of a way to seperate us and take us out one at a time. I'm saying it won't work. While you keep your distance, you're still losing the fight. If you try to run it won't work since I'll just catch you and if we manage to get you grounded, then your death is inescapable." Naruto said
"You intended to attack my village and capture me. You and the other akatsuki members would have extracted Shukaku from me which would have killed me. As Kazekage it is my duty to protect the village and the price for your actions is death." Gaara said
"The akatsuki have now gone from predator to prey. The hunters have now become the hunted." Naruto said
"It's time we finished this." Gaara said
"Like hell you will! I'm tired of hearing you both talk and looking at those expressionless faces of yours."Deidara said
"I only have enough clay for one last homing type. I'll have to save that for a different time." Deidara thought as he got some clay ready
"Naruto, while I am all for him being defeated, I must make sure the village is untouched." Gaara said
"I know. I'll force him back to gain some distance from the village." Naruto said
"How will you do that?" Gaara asked
"My friend here can use his wings to create a strong enough wing and send him far away from the village." Naruto said and Gaara nodded
"I'll follow your lead." Gaara said
"Alright, Skyress. Give me the strongest wind you can create." Naruto said
"Of course." Skyress said
Skyress flapped her wings creating a powerful gust of wind for Naruto and he followed it up by using the shuriken shadow clone jutsu. Gaara used his sand shuriken to create hundreds of shuriken that went flying at Deidara. Deidara was looking at a countless amount of shurikens flying at him and had to retreat away from the village. He was too fast for the shurikens, but Gaara used the great breakthrough to speed up their attacks. The clay bird Deidara was on was clipped a few times and he had no choice, but to use some of his remaining clay to fix it.
Deidara created some small size clay explosives and threw them towards Naruto and Gaara. Naruto then did something nobody has ever done before and created a giant fuma shuriken out of lighting then threw it towards the explosives. He watched as the shuriken tore through the explosives with no difficulty and Deidara was livid that none of his plans were working. However, Deidara saw a small opening to attack Gaara while Naruto was distracted and summoned his C2 Dragon that exploded at point blank range in front of Gaara who barely had enough time to protect himself with his sand. Gaara was knocked out and fell out of the sky, but his sand protected his fall.
"THAT'S ONE JINCHURIKI DOWN. ONE MORE TO GO." Deidara yelled, as Naruto landed on the ground
"Son of a bitch." Naruto thought
"This is the end for you as well!" Deidara said
C3 explosion
This was Deidara's most powerful large scale bomb, which became an enormous statue once it was activated. Deidara dropped this on his target from above which just happened to be Naruto who was just looking at the statue. Naruto could tell that its explosive power was great enough to potentially destroy a large portion of Suna and prepared himself to prepare for it. Once the attack was close enough to Naruto and Suna, Deidara caused the clay statue to explode. Naruto went to Gaara and told Skyress to fly away from the blast as he got ready. The clay statue exploded, then Gaara's eyes snapped open and they were the eyes of Shukaku.
"Well, the Uchiha is dead for sure, but I know the jinchuriki was protected by his sand. I wish I knew some wind ninjutsu right about now." Deidara said
After a while the smoke cleared and it revealed a black sphere. The sphere spread apart revealing it to be black iron wings sprouting from Gaara's back. However, there was also a silver rib cage surrounding Naruto who was also unharmed by the blast.
"Our intelligence never mentioned anything about the jinchuriki being able to use iron sand. Plus, I've never seen a jutsu like the one the Uchiha is using." Deidara thought
"You alright, Gaara?" Naruto asked
"I'm fine." Gaara said and Naruto noticed his eyes
"Shukaku. I wonder what happened." Naruto thought
"You, Uchiha. What is that jutsu you're using?" Deidara asked
"Kiss my ass you blonde fucker. If it wasn't for your voice I wouldn't even know you were a guy." Naruto said and the rib cage went away
Before Deidara could respond, he noticed a shadow behind him and saw a black iron fist behind him. Before he could react, the fist exploded as Gaara used the iron sand drizzle and it destroyed the clay bird Deidara was flying on. Deidara started to fall to the ground with the bird and Naruto tried to hit him with a chidori, but only managed to cut his arm off in the process. Naruto landed next to Gaara and Skyress returned to the fight.
"This isn't good. I need to retreat. Hopefully Sasori had a better chance with his right than I did." Deidara thought
"We need to stop him. He's grounded and he's vulnerable." Skyress said
"I know. I need the both of you to create a tornado and make sure it goes directly at him." Naruto said and started gathering fire chakra
Skyress and Gaara both used their wind manipulation to create a gigantic tornado that was sent towards Deidara. Naruto finished gathering chakra and used the Fire Style: Blast Wave Wild Dance which combined with the gigantic tornado that was created. The combination of the two created the fire whirlwind jutsu and caused a blazing firestorm that burned the sand around them. The jutsu died down and Deidara was nowhere to be seen. Nothing was there except for a burnt akatsuki robe and Naruto sighed.
"He got away." Naruto said
"Naruto, do you require my assistance anymore?" Skyress asked
"No. He's long gone. You can head back." Naruto said and Skyress went up in smoke
"Naruto!" Natsumi said as she ran up to them
"Man, what happened here? How did you manage to burn all of this sand?" Temari asked
"What happened to the other akatsuki member?" Gaara asked, as his eyes went back to normal and his iron sand went away
"He's dead. He was really easy once we got by all of his damn puppets. He carried over 1,000 puppets with him and Kankuro almost got off at the sight of them." Natsumi said and Naruto looked at Kankuro who was in bad shape
"What happened to you?" Naruto asked
"He was poisoned by Sasori. He made a puppet of the third Kazekage that was able to use the iron sand kekkei genkai and Kankuro was hit by it. I need to get him to the hospital to properly work on him." Sakura said
"Temari, show her where it is." Gaara said
"Of course. Come on, Sakura." Temari said and they left
"What happened?" Naruto asked
"What do you mean?" Natsumi asked
"We could both tell you're keeping something hidden." Gaara said
"Sasori told me that he was supposed to meet a spy at the tenchi bridge in 10 days. I don't know who he is since he didn't say a name, but apparently he has information on Orochimaru." Natsumi said
"Tenchi bridge?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. It's somewhere in Kusa." Natsumi said
"Then we need to bring Karin with us." Naruto said
"Why?" Natsumi asked
"She used to live in Kusa and knows the area. Also she can keep her chakra hidden while locating others with her mind's eye of the kagura. She can alert us of any danger that may try to sneak up on us while we wait. It could be a trap." Naruto said
"What about Sakura?" Natsumi asked
"If this is indeed a trap then we need a medic that can fight from a distance. Sakura is a close range fighter which is odd for a medic, but she learned from Tsunade." Naruto said
"I get that, but Karin isn't a fighter." Natsumi said
"You've never fought Karin, have you?" Naruto asked
"No." Natsumi said
"Good. Let's just say that she's got more than one Uzumaki ability. She's a long range fighter and she's the best for this mission. She can heal while attacking or protecting herself from a distance at the same time." Naruto said
"If you say so." Natsumi said
"Natsumi, are you certain Sasori is dead?" Gaara asked
"Yeah. Kankuro took all of the puppets Sasori was using, including his body." Natsumi said
"You should brief Lady Tsunade on this." Gaara said and walked away
"Alright. Let's go back to the village." Natsumi said
"We can't." Naruto said
"Why not?" Natsumi asked
"Because Sakura is still working on Kankuro. We need samples of that poison he was hit with and she'll get it for us. We leave after she's done healing him." Naruto said
"Let's just leave her. I don't want her screaming in my ears again." Natsumi said
"Looks like you'll have to deal with it." Naruto said and they started to walk to the village
"That reminds me. How the hell didn't she bother you?" Natsumi asked
"Easy. I basically grew up with you so I learned to tune out loud and annoying noises." Naruto said and vanished
"GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS." Natsumi yelled and gave chase
Konoha-2 days later
"I see. Seems like the two of you handled things pretty well." Tsunade said
"Well, we are the best of our generation." Natsumi said
"Well I'd like to think so. Naruto's nearly a Kage level shinobi and you're clearly on your way to becoming one as well if you keep this up." Tsunade said
"Yeah I know. I'm awesome." Natsumi said
"Too bad you still have your mothers attitude." Tsunade said
"I don't think that's ever going to leave. Anyway I have something important I need to tell you." Natsumi said
"What's that?" Tsunade asked
"After I dealt the final blow, Sasori gave me some information about Orochimaru or how to get some information on Orochimaru." Natsumi said
"Explain." Tsunade said
"He said that I need to go to the tenchi bridge in ten days and meet his spy. 2 days have already passed so that gives us about a week to get there." Natsumi said
"You don't think he's lying?" Tsunade asked
"No. It was his last words and sort of a reward for defeating him I guess." Natsumi said
"Very well. I'll send you two with Sakura and another jonin. I had to send Kakashi out on a mission and he won't be back for some time." Tsunade said
"Actually, I was thinking of using Karin for this mission instead of Sakura." Naruto said
"Why?" Tsunade asked
"Well, Sakura is a copy of you. For this mission we'll need a long range medic and defense in case of an ambush. Sakura sucks at defensive tactics sort of like you do. Karin is a long range fighter, can heal almost any wounds in a short period of time and she can use barriers. She also has a sensor ability that makes all of ours look like a joke. This is a stealth & recon type of mission and who's better than somebody that can hide her chakra from anything while searching for others no matter how hard they try to hide it." Naruto said
"I'll ignore the shot you took at me, but I don't know about Karin. She's been hell bent on not going on missions and now you want to take her to Kusa, the very place she hates." Tsunade said
"True, but this also means we can possibly take down Orochimaru and I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't mind doing that at all. Just let me talk to her." Naruto said and Tsunade sighed
"Fine. If you can convince her to do the mission then that's fine, but if she refuses you'll have to make due with Sakura." Tsunade said
"Alright. Do you know where Karin is right now?" Naruto asked
"She should be at the hospital finishing up her shift." Shizune said
"Alright. I'll let you know what happens." Naruto said and vanished
"Alright. I guess I'll be going now." Natsumi said
"Not so fast, Natsumi. We need to talk." Tsunade said
"About what?" Natsumi asked and Tsunade gained an evil grin on her face
"Hiroshi." Tsunade said and Natsumi's face matched the color of her hair
Hospital
After Naruto left Tsunade's office he took a walk to the village and greeted people who didn't know he was back. He didn't see Kurenai or Anko yet, but he'd make sure to visit them soon. He just arrived at the hospital and spotted Karin at the front desk handing over some paperwork.
"Karin." Naruto said
"Yeah? How can I...whoa. Well, hello handsome." Karin said
"I should've seen this coming." Naruto thought
"I need your help." Naruto said
"At least tell me your name first. Actually, I think I'll stick to calling you handsome." Karin said
"It's me, Naruto." Naruto said and her jaw dropped
"No fucking way! Where the hell have you been?!" Karin asked as she wrapped him up in a tight hug
"I was out on a mission." Naruto said
"For almost three years?" Karin asked
"It was an SS-rank mission." Naruto said
"I see. So, what did you want to talk about?" Karin asked
"I need you to come with me and Natsumi on a mission to the Tenchi bridge." Naruto said
"Sorry, but I don't go on missions. Let alone a mission that will take me there." Karin said
"Not even if it meant we could kill Orochimaru and possibly Kabuto as well." Naruto said and she pulled him into a storage room then sealed it
"Talk." Karin said
"Me, Natsumi and Sakura were just in Suna helping defeat the two akatsuki members that were sent after Gaara. One of them was Sasori and he told Natsumi about a spy going to meet him at the Tenchi bridge. I need a long range fighter, medic and sensor. You fit all of those." Naruto said
"Why not take Sakura?" Karin asked
"Because Sakura is a close range medic since she was trained by Tsunade and fights just like her. Me, you and Natsumi can go undetected, something she still struggles with, but unlike me and Natsumi, you can be undetected while still sensing other people." Naruto said
"I don't know. What's in it for me?" Karin asked
"You can help get rid of Kabuto and Orochimaru. Plus, you may get to destroy some Kusa property and maybe hurt a few of their shinobi if this is a trap." Naruto said and she sighed
"When do we leave?" Karin asked
"Six days. One of my dragons will fly us there." Naruto said
"I'll be there." Karin said
"Thanks. I owe you one." Naruto said
"It's fine, but I do have something for you." Karin said and pulled out a file
"What is it?" Naruto asked
"I was working with Lady Tsunade on that disease your mother had and I found something odd." Karin said
"Odd how?" Naruto asked
"Whatever infected your mother was some kind of undetectable gas. The thing is, I did some research in Konoha's database and it's a gas that was created for something called the Konoha death squad during the first and second shinobi war. Back then it wasn't as controlled so it was a quick and painful death used on the enemy, but this one is more controlled and affects you as time goes on." Karin said
"So, somebody in Konoha poisoned my mother?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. Lady Tsunade managed to find a cure for it, but I guess she didn't have the time to tell you yet." Karin said
"Thanks." Naruto said
"One more thing. It had to be administered through a mask used to help administer a sedative. Is there any time your mother needed something like that?" Karin asked
"She had complications after I was born. That's all she told me." Naruto said
"Then you're in the clear and don't carry the disease, but somebody definitely murdered your mother." Karin said
"Thanks. I'll see you later." Naruto said and vanished
Tsunade's office
"Naruto? What are you doing here? Did Karin accept the mission?" Tsunade asked
"Yeah, but that's not why I'm here." Naruto said and sealed the room
"What seems to be the problem?" Tsunade asked and Naruto handed her the file Karin gave him
"That's what this is about." Naruto said
"Your mother's disease file. I was going to tell you, but things happened with the akatsuki." Tsunade said
"I know." Naruto said
"Okay then. What about it?" Tsunade asked
"Karin said my mother was poisoned by a gas." Naruto said
"Yes. That was my conclusion." Tsunade said
"That gas was created right here in Konoha during the second and third shinobi war." Naruto said
"How did you find that out?" Tsunade asked
"Karin did and she told me. During that time, who was in charge of the Konoha death squad?" Naruto asked and Tsunade sighed
"Danzo was in charge of that squad until sensei ordered it to be shut down. Why?" Tsunade asked
"Danzo is responsible for killing my mother. Karin told me that gas can only be administered by a mask used to give patients anesthesia." Naruto said
"That's impossible. That project was shut down due to it being uncontrollable." Tsunade said
"Do you really think Danzo shut it down? He kept the gas and over the years he managed to perfect it so it kills you slowly depending on how much you take." Naruto said
"That is what happened to your mom based on the notes you gave me." Tsunade said
"When I get the opportunity, he's dead." Naruto said and she pulled out a piece of paper
"This way I can protect you and make it a mission. I can't have you go out and be labeled a rogue ninja." Tsunade said and handed it to him
"Thanks." Naruto said
"There's just one thing I don't understand. How was he able to test this gas without anyone knowing?" Tsunade asked
"Simple. He has an entire army of mindless drones that will do anything he asks or tells them to do." Naruto said
"Of course, Root is still being run illegally by Danzo, but we have no proof." Tsunade said
"He's bound to slip up now that me and Natsumi are back in the village. He wants both of us on his side and I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow managed to weasel himself into one of our missions." Naruto said
"I'll keep an eye on him. In the meantime I have other good news for you." Tsunade said
"What's that?" Naruto asked
"That medical seal you wanted to create was approved by the council. Although many were upset that it can't cure everything it does help out a lot. I combined the notes between you and your father which is weird because both of you had the missing pieces to the other's work." Tsunade said
"When do you want me to start working on them?" Naruto asked
"As soon as possible." Tsunade said and he nodded
"I'll have some ready before the mission." Naruto said
"I'll try to spring a trap by going to the council about this. I know Danzo will have his root anbu spying so I'll mention the two of you on the mission. I talked to Karin a bit over the years and she said she met Danzo once when she was under Orochimaru. If I mention Orochimaru's name then I'm sure Danzo will want one of his ninja to go on the mission. I'll deny him his request, but tell Karin to keep her sensing ability sharp just in case he goes behind my back. Kill whoever Danzo sends and search them for any clues on Danzo working with him." Tsunade said
"No problem." Naruto said
"You're dismissed." Tsunade said
"See you later." Naruto said and went up in a swirl fire
"Show off." Tsunade thought
"SHIZUNE." Tsunade yelled and Shizune came into the room
"Yes, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked
"Summon the council for an emergency meeting." Tsunade said
"Civilian or Shinobi?" Tsunade asked
"Shinobi council only. Tell them to meet in 1 hour while I get everything situated." Tsunade said
"Of course." Shizune said and left
"Time to get rid of this pain in the ass." Tsunade thought
Tsunade sealed the folder away and made her way to the council room, but not before activating the security seal in the room that she installed. She had a feeling root would be lurking in her office if Danzo showed up to the meeting and she used it now just for extra precautions.